In Raid to Save Foley and Other Hostages, U.S. Found None  —  EDGARTOWN, Mass. — A secret nighttime military mission authorized by President Obama to rescue Americans held captive in Syria failed early this summer when a team of two dozen Delta Force commandos raided an oil refinery …

Missouri cop was badly beaten before shooting Michael Brown, says source  —  Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer whose fatal shooting of Michael Brown touched off more than a week of demonstrations, suffered severe facial injuries, including an orbital (eye socket) fracture …

Councilman under fire for posting what some call ‘racist photos’ on Facebook … POPLAR BLUFF, MO (KFVS) -  —  A Poplar Bluff city councilman is under fire for posting what some are calling racist photos of President Obama on his Facebook page.  —  The issue was brought up at Monday night's city council meeting.

St. Louis Police Release Video, Calls From City Shooting  —  On Tuesday, two officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department shot and killed Kajieme Powell, who was 25 years old.  —  Powell was suspected of shoplifting energy drinks and donuts from a convenience store.

Contempt [Updated]  —  In recent months, Barack Obama has crossed an important threshold.  He has always shown contempt for his opponents; now he shows contempt for his supporters.  He has quit pretending to be a leader, and more or less quit pretending to be a president.

“No One Treats African-Americans Worse Than We Treat Each Other”  —  The troubling self-flagellation in Ferguson's black community  —  Last Thursday, the rapper Nelly went on the air of his hometown hip-hop radio station, St. Louis's Hot 104.1, to announce a college scholarship fund …

Holder tells Ferguson students he was a victim of racial profiling  —  FERUGUSON, Mo. — Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday told a group of black college students here that he had been a victim of racial profiling.  —  Holder, who is in Ferguson as part of the Justice Department's investigation …

Obama returns to golf course after condemning ISIS  —  Shortly after delivering a statement denouncing the execution of American journalist James Foley by Islamist militants in Iraq, President Obama hit the golf course on Wednesday.  —  Obama completed the statement at a school in Martha's Vineyard …

From a vulnerable red state Democrat, a strong pro-Obamacare ad  —  One of the key questions of this cycle has been: As the potency of anti-Obamacare attacks fading as enrollment mounts and roll-out problems are forgotten, will we reach a point where vulnerable Democrats in red state territory …

Supreme Court blocks Virginia same-sex marriages  —  The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked same-sex marriage from taking place this week in Virginia.  (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)  —  The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to a stay Wednesday on a federal appeals court's ruling …